Thanks to Santa, a second 3D printer has joined the heavy shop. Why would anyone need two 3D printers, you might ask? You might ask the same of hammers, and yet I own a regular claw hammer, a tack hammer, a rubber mallet and a maul. Like hammers, different 3D printers have different uses.
Resin printers like my Elegoo Mars are good for detail, but the resin tends to be either brittle or bendy or paradoxically both. It’s not great for large pieces that need to be stiff and strong. FDM printers seem to be better for strong parts like those you might need around the layout room.
So, when I went to print the parts for my upcoming steam throttle project, and found that they will not fit on the Mars, I asked Santa for an Elegoo Neptune, and sent her a handy link to ensure there was no mistake. Honestly, I did little research on which printer to get; I like the build quality of the Mars, and having now set up and printed some parts on the Neptune, I’m equally happy with it.
I often get asked about the fumes from the resin printer, and honestly, when the cover is on, nobody can detect them. The new FDM printer, on the other hand, smells like melting plastic when it’s running, and so after the initial test prints, it was banished to the increasingly crowded heavy shop where I can run the extractor fan. I’ll be building another cabinet for the 3D printers this spring.
Pembroke:87 